Over the past few months LB and I have noticed what I would call a climax in fear in businesses and individuals. We have tried in vain to engage other trading businesses in various joint ventures that would be good for all. However, despite leaping at the chance the reponse from all has been…..we cant do that matrkets are tough at present so we need to hide under our mommies skirt because we are all limp dicks. If ever there was a time to go hard it was when others where scared and opportunities abounded.
Apparently, our profoundly well informed media say that things are bad….really I know lots of traders/businesses who are having their best months. And we all play in the same pond so whats the difference?
The ignorance part comes from a joint venture we were trying to set up with a US trading group and this is going to sound so terribly stereotypical but it came to nought when they realised that Australia was not a small land locked European country bordered by Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy and Lichetenstein. Austria is the birthplace of Adolph Hitler and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Australia is a big arse island stuck in the bottom of the Southern Hemispehere. It is the birthplace of the Crocodile Dundee and Steve Irwin those ever so wonderfully accurate stereotypes.
I posed the question in the first paragraph as to what was the difference between those doing well and those who were shell shocked and the answer with all things is simple. It is mindset – for some adversity brings opportunity and a chance to prove themselves. For others it shows them who they really are and being shown who you really are is for some confronting and disappointing.
I know I harp on about this relentlessly but the difference between a trader who does well and one who does not is often a matter of what goes on between their ears.
PS Anyone know who I can write to to make certain every American is supplied with an atlas….
When I visited the USA in the 1980s I remember being asked how long it took me to drive over from Australia! Geography skills have not improved.
Reminds me somewhat of these –
Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? – USA
A: Depends how much you’ve been drinking!
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? – USA
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not… oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
Q: Which direction is North in Australia? – USA
A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? – USA
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.
Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? – USA
A: Aus-tra-li-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is…oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? – USA
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
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Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. – USA
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It’s a kind of bear and lives in trees. – USA
A: It’s called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was in Kings Cross. Can you help? – USA
A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.
Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? – USA
A: Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first.